Henri hunched down in front of her chair, looking up at her. “We have reached a point where we have to decide between the comforts of our father’s estate and our literal safety. It’s not the same calculation we were making even yesterday.”
Here was the thoughtful acknowledgment she needed, the recognition that what she had endured hadn’t been in vain or foolhardy. Circumstances were different now, yes, but that didn’t negate all that she had done.
“If I defy him, he will cut you off permanently,” she said. “I will not inflict that on you.”
Henri squeezed her hand. “We’ll get you to Fleur-de-la-Forêt, where you’ll be safe. Should Jean-François decide he needs to punish us for having the audacity to value our continued existence”—Henri’s dry tone actually brought a fleeting smile to her face—“then we’ll decide what’s to be done next.”
“He shouldn’t have this much power over us.” Céleste hated that he did.
“Whatshould beand whatisare not always the same.”
That was most certainly true. “We cannot leave Adèle here in danger.”
“Of course not,” Henri said. “We’ll find a means of getting her out of the city as well.”
Céleste glanced at Aldric and saw unmistakable determination in his eyes. The General was on their side in this, which significantly increased their odds of success.
“I’ve already packed the most necessary of my things so I can leave Paris as soon as I’m able,” she said. “Finding a means of gathering Adèle’s necessities when her own parents are unlikely to be in favor of her departure from Paris will be more difficult.”
“That is likely where your biggest argument with your brother and sister-in-law will occur,” Aldric said.
“It’s an argument I’m willing to have,” Céleste said. “Adèle can’t simply be abandoned, left to be the next Fortier threatened and snatched away by whoever is doing this to us.”
Aldric nodded. He didn’t mean to question her, it seemed. And he didn’t appear to disagree with her determination.
“You’re the strategist, Aldric,” Lucas said. “How long do you think it would take to have everything in place for a journey to Fleur-de-la-Forêt?”
Aldric gave it a moment’s thought. “I suspect, considering we will have to fight against Jean-François and will be leaving with two more people than we had on the journey to Paris, we likely need three days.”
“Three days?” Julia repeated with a pulled expression. “We almost lost Céleste tonight. Three more days in Paris is a risk for her, Henri, and Adèle. Likely for Nicolette as well.”
Céleste swallowed against the emotion in her throat.Almost lost.She didn’t at all want to think about what had nearly happened. She pushed it down, a skill she had perfected over the years.
“We can keep them safe for two or three more days,” Aldric said. “Then all of us are leaving Paris.”
Chapter Fifteen
Aldric spent the next morningand first part of the afternoon looking over maps of the French countryside and making lists of things that needed to be done and items that needed to be gathered before they could begin their journey out of Paris. He knew where to obtain most of what they needed, and whatever he didn’t know how to find, Nicolette would. She knew Paris better than almost anyone.
Céleste would likely know as well, but Aldric was determined not to add to the burdens she was already carrying. She was ill. The brother who had control over her life didn’t value that life. She was worried about her niece. And she had nearly been abducted by a man intent on doing her violence. He’d seen the weight of that in her eyes when he’d sat next to her in the parlor the night before.
Few things pained him more than not being in a position to help people he cared about. The weight of his mother’s final gift to him, still unwrapped in his pocket, kept her plight fresh in his mind. He’d not been able to convince himself to open it, which made him feel like a coward. But it was all he had left of her, and the thought of closing this final door made him feel terribly alone.
“Julia says she and Céleste have gathered all that Adèle will need for the journey to Fleur-de-la-Forêt.” Lucas spoke as he stepped into the parlor. “It remains to be seen whether the little girl’s parents can be convinced to allow her to go.”
Aldric looked up from his lists. “I will never understand why some children are blessed with caring parents and others are burdened with heartless ones.”
“I’ve often pondered the unfairness of that when contemplating my father in contrast with yours and Henri’s,” Lucas said. “And then there’s Digby. His father makes yours look like an almost caring person.”
Digby almost never spoke of his family. Society had plenty to say, most of it rumors and whispers. The only thing most people were certain of was that the members of the Layton family had been at war with each other since before Digby was born. Stanley had, Aldric suspected, known far more ofthe intricacies of it all than the rest of the Gents. Lucas seemed to know a lot as well.
Aldric opted not to pry. Not only did he want Digby to retain whatever privacy on the matter he wished for, but he also knew he was the last person anyone wanted involved in family upheaval.
Benicks ruined families. Even ones that were already a mess.
“We’ll want to pack plenty of things for Adèle that will entertain her and give her the comfort of familiarity,” Aldric said. “We’ll need two days in the carriage to reach Fleur-de-la-Forêt. That is a long time for a child to sit still.”
“I suspect the ladies have already thought of that.” Lucas sat on a nearby sofa. “But it would be worth mentioning.”
